Haha. Hello.

If you checked my profile update, I had a computer crash that was nearly fatal to this document. XD THANK GOD for external hard drives. That would be the reason for the delay.

Anyways. The reason for this story being rated "T" is exposed in this chapter. The fighting is somewhat descriptive. Nothing too, horrible or graphic, I don't think... mention of blood or mention of being stabbed is probably the worst it gets. I tried to keep it as minimal as I could, but, I wanted this to be really, really good. I wanted you to feel like you were there, watching, egging people on like it's a wrestling match. XD Let me know what you think!

Riku spun, knocking his keyblade into Zexion's sword for seemingly the thousandth time, using enough force to send Zexion veering backward. Every time Riku thought he saw an opening, it seemed Zexion closed it unnaturally quickly. He shot off a red spell that sounded like a gunshot, which Riku had been expecting, and he blocked it with ease as he charged toward Zexion, fury pumping through his veins and releasing relentless amounts of adrenaline.

Close by, the battle between Yuri and Hana raged. Riku kept tabs on it by listening through Yuri's mind—that way, he could concentrate on his own fighting while still getting the blow-by-blow. From the way it sounded, Hana was barely holding her own, and for a quick and tempting moment, Riku wanted to listen to Hana's thoughts, to see if she was trying at all… he stopped himself as Zexion launched a particularly powerful and fierce attack.

Before long, he realized Hana must have snapped out of it—she was suddenly putting up an extraordinary fight. Her magic was much better than either Yuri or Riku had been expecting, and she was rather good with a katana. Wasn't it ironic? Both girls fought with them…

Zexion was tired. It was plain in his features, the slouch of his shoulders, and the heaving of his chest. The fight was one of the most strenuous Riku had ever been involved in, but in a test of stamina, the clear winner would be Riku. How much longer would Zexion be able to hold out? His face was glistening with the sweat of a brutal fight. He and Riku charged each other again, using magic, weapons, anything to get the upper hand.

At last, Zexion caught Riku's keyblade at a stalemate. Riku pushed against Zexion's sword so intensely that his muscles screamed in protest. His hair stuck to his face as they struggled, both breathing raggedly.

"Ready to give up?" Riku managed a smirk, which was miraculous given his exhaustion.

"Depends," Zexion replied thoughtfully, keeping his face and tone as calm as he could despite the unprecedented pain of it all. "Are you still alive?"

Riku's eyebrows shot up. He hadn't been expecting such an aggressive response. "You're dreaming if you think you're going to get to me."

"And you're dreaming if you think Yuri loves you," Zexion spat back, polishing it off with a strange and rambling laugh. "I know the truth. She's a selfish coward—"

"STOP IT!" Riku shouted, suddenly mustering enough force to shove Zexion away. One well-placed paralysis spell later, and Zexion was frozen in his stance. Riku slowly moved forward, hoping the anticipation of his death was really getting to Zexion. He wanted Zexion's last moments alive to haunt him for the rest of eternity… he wanted the look in his eyes to nearly scare him to death before he had the chance to give him a taste of keyblade that he deserved. "Don't talk about her. You don't know the first thing about her," Riku growled fiercely. "She's probably the only truly good person that it'll ever be your good fortune to meet."

Zexion's eyes went strangely blank—did he realize the end was near?

Yuri's voice was in his head. Riku, watch Korin, to the left!

Before he knew it, he was on the ground, with Korin cackling in the back round. She had seen Zexion in his peril, and found a moment to rescue him, despite the fact that she was dueling both Naminé and Roxas. He felt Zexion coming toward him, the paralysis spell broken, and knew he had to do something.

A surge of power was suddenly lifting him from the ground, and it took him a moment to realize that Yuri was much closer than he thought. She had found a way around Hana to heal him, and help him—feeling good as new, he launched another spell at Zexion, and headed straight into another pass at him.

Yuri's hair flew as she summoned all of her power into her ancient katana, preparing to cannon it in Hana's direction. She had wanted a crack at this horrible girl for longer than she could remember, and finally, she had her chance to get revenge.

Hana fought with a weapon quite similar to Yuri's, and was prone to releasing random and unexpected spurts of very powerful magic. In some ways, Yuri saw Naminé in Hana as she fought—both were very intellect oriented; both laboriously sorted out plans in their mind before acting. To them, it was certainly an issue of mind over matter. The intensity in Hana's eyes rivaled that of Naminé's, and they had nearly the same battle face—teeth clenched into almost a grimace when things grew rough. Hana swung a particularly good placed strike, which Yuri had to resort to blocking with magic. A spell from Hana exploded in her face, rendering her momentarily blind.

Somehow, she still knew where Hana was going to put her blade, and managed to protect herself until she could cast a quick spell to heal the damage Hana had done. She charged something blue into her katana and lunged at Hana, red eyes wide and spine-chilling. It was hard for Hana to stare into them, knowing what Riku saw when he looked into Yuri's eyes… something she so desperately wished he could see in her eyes instead.

Yuri's blue spell was blocked, and the girls began a vigorous attempt at slashing each other, which rivaled the battle of Riku and Zexion. Both girls wanted to win very badly… the tension in the air suggested they were fighting for Riku. Yuri ducked one of Hana's shots by use of a lightning fast back-bend, hands roughly hitting the ground. She flipped her legs over her head, launching another blue spell at Hana as she came back onto her feet.

It hit her in the back, and as she fell face-first into the dirt, Yuri saw a spell cast by Hana too late—it hit her squarely in the knees, and she too crumpled to the ground.

Breathing shallowly, each girl took the necessary steps to heal themselves, and at nearly the same time, both were standing again.

Hana's face was dirty, and the front of her black uniform was tan with dust from the ground. Her hair had become a tangled mop on her head, and her shoulders were rising and falling visibly with her panting. Yuri was similarly worse for the wear, with her face already bruised and a gash on her arm, but it didn't seem to bother either of them. Their eyes zeroed in on each other yet again, and the fight began anew. If the prize was Riku, there was no way either of them would go down with just a fight—it would take a war.

Even with Roxas' help, Naminé and Korin's fight was intense and evenly matched. She kept calling other powerful members to distract Roxas, in hopes that Naminé would again overuse her magic and burn herself out. In Naminé's mind, that was out of the question. Once was enough. She dodged a quick spell Korin had cast, and sent a purple, whirly one her way in response. At that point, spells just seemed a waste with Korin—she had a knack for escaping, no matter the circumstance, just as she always had. Roxas was currently locked up with a skilled magician, which left Naminé to defend herself against the black spell Korin cast, which cracked like a whip as it flew through the air. Naminé didn't recognize it, but clutched her daggers, and stabbed the left one into the black light as forcefully as she could, feeling her weapon drinking in the pulsating power.

Korin didn't look surprised by what Naminé was doing—she charged forward, thin and moveable sword drawn. The black light was emitting off the dagger Naminé had stabbed the spell with, and as she met Korin's sword with the unaffected dagger, she twirled the blackened one toward Korin's face, and the spell re-erupted from Naminé's weapon. Surprised, it knocked Korin in the chest, sending her backward so far that the spell could have been a wrecking ball, demolishing her like an ancient, abandoned building. She slid on her back for a good ten feet, but was surprisingly quick to recover. Naminé had barely had a moment to congratulate herself before Korin was at it again, sending spell after spell at Naminé while she ran forth to meet her.

Naminé's shield was sufficient to stop the small distractions Korin was casting, and her daggers became bright with white light, little charges of static visible around them. She flipped them around in her hands eagerly as she took off running, anxious to meet another chance to be rid of Korin…

Just as she was within reach, Naminé sent the spell from the first dagger right into Korin's face, and connected with Korin's sword with the second, releasing the white light down the shiny metal, through the hilt, and into Korin's body. The first spell was deflected, and she seemed unaffected by the second. Korin ripped through Naminé's stance, her arms feeling strangely weak and spent as she tried to regain position to block Korin's sword strikes. Her daggers readily met Korin's sword, clanging again and again as each girl tried to gain the upper hand.

"You'll never win," Korin growled as Naminé suddenly went on the offensive with an attempted stab at Korin's side.

"Depends on who is fighting!" Naminé responded between dagger strokes, straining every muscle, urging her body for more speed, more power…

"You're right; if my boss enters the fight, you will die," Korin whispered, a maniacal grin spread across her face as her eyes, shining and hungry for revenge, met Naminé's red pupils unabashedly.

"You know," Naminé mused, striking faster and faster, "I don't think I meant your side."

Korin was pissed. Immediately after she had said it, Naminé knew it was wrong. Korin was coming at her with ferocity like Naminé hadn't seen since the night of Roxas' almost-murder. Her eyes were wide and her hair was flying as she swung like a maniac, wishing nothing more than for the decapitation of the blonde nuisance she had loathed for so long. Fear she used to feel when the red in Naminé's eyes would ignite was no more—a thirst to make sure the eyes never shined red again had replaced that fear long ago. To Korin, Naminé wasn't that heroic warrior that had saved Roxas' life… she was the obnoxious and troublesome little girl that had managed to harness magic beyond her abilities to force Korin to retreat.

Nobody played that part in Korin's life and lived to tell about it; especially not a puny little girl like Naminé.

Riku hadn't made any gains on Zexion since Yuri had helped him. He had mentally thanked her, which of course prompted both Roxas and Sora to check in on Riku and find out what had happened while they were fighting. Kairi checked in, announcing that she was perfectly fine, while Sora, who was fighting near Cloud and Leon, notified Riku that they were all still in perfect healt, while Roxas had affirmed he and Naminé's safety, though they were having trouble keeping Korin from interfering with other fights around the battlefield. She was just too quick to subdue.

Across the field, Axel, Akiko, and their witches seemed to be doing quite a bit of damage to the lower ranks of the Adherence—so far, they had lost about a quarter of their numbers, with more falling victim to their ridiculous magic abilities with each minute. The defense of the castle, as far as Riku was concerned, was going quite well. Even if they failed to keep the Adherence away long enough, the magical spell around the castle would take them quite awhile to break… enough time for him and his friends to come up with another plan.

Zexion began another relentless assault, and Riku's legs screamed with the strain of pushing against Zexion yet again. If he was to the point of exhaustion already, he wondered, how must Zexion be faring? He blocked another of Zexion's shots with his keyblade, and quickly freed one of his hands, sending a spell straight for Zexion's gut. He missed wide, and instead swung his keyblade for the same area. Zexion had trouble blocking it, but managed to get away with another save. Growling angrily, Riku gritted his teeth and used every sword move he could think of. It seemed Zexion was just as well trained as he—he perfectly blocked every single one with an unexpected intensity looming behind his movements. Perhaps he had realized that Riku really wouldn't give up until he was dead…

A warning from Naminé was suddenly going off in Riku's head as Yuri had suddenly screamed in both their network of magic and out loud. It only took Riku a moment to spot what had happened—suddenly enraged, he let out a wild yell of frustration as he stabbed his keyblade through Zexion, who had also been distracted by Yuri's scream, in an extreme and uncontrollable surge of grief. He removed it immediately and turned, sprinting for Yuri, praying to get to her before she fell…

Yuri's battle with Hana had done nothing but intensify. As they quickened their pace, almost dancing around the battlefield with hit after hit, block after block, Hana was almost crying as she asked Yuri, voice cracking, "Why do you love him so much?"

Her katana connected with Hana's unexpectedly roughly, the smooth blades sliding against each other before coming to a stop as both girls pushed with all their strength to conquer the impasse. "You have no right to know," Yuri hissed in response, putting all of her body weight into it despite the aching.

Her response didn't seem to ruffle Hana. "Does he love you?"

Yuri felt a tear of frustration slide down her dusty, bruised cheek as her muscles prepared to give against Hana's force. "I hope so," she whispered, meeting Hana's eyes unwillingly. She hadn't expected the sadness, the loneliness that she knew would be there to affect her so sharply, but before she knew it, she was feeling sorry for Hana.

She could feel Hana's strength waning, and her own began to slacken, as well… as though they could both feel a truce coming… as though both felt the fight wasn't even worth it anymore…

Before Hana and Yuri could move another inch, something shining and silver flew across the battlefield, coming from, where else, Korin's direction. She heard Naminé's warning too late. Yuri felt it sink in to her chest before she even noticed it coming—she had been too wrapped up in Hana's actions. She screamed as she sank to her knees. As blood slowly began to drip down Yuri's front while the handle of the knife stuck eerily out of her sternum, Hana stared around fearfully, eyes combing for the source. She saw Naminé on the ground, Korin having overcome her for a moment, which was more than enough time to send a knife in the Queen's direction. Hana felt the power building up in Korin's hands—the black spell that sounded like a whip was suddenly sent at the kneeling Yuri, rocketing across the grass straight toward the fallen Queen.

For a moment that felt like it took hours, Hana deliberated—which was more important? Saving herself, or saving the woman Riku loved?

She dove forward, grabbing the injured Yuri in her arms, and just as Korin's spell approached, both disappeared.

Riku stood, angrier than anybody had ever seen him, in the spot where Yuri had just knelt, where her blood had stained the grass… where the hell had Hana taken her? Why had Hana taken her? More importantly, was she alive?

"We'd all feel it if she'd died," Kairi had assured him, though she had failed to restrict the air of panic in her own voice. "Find Yuffie and go with her to locate Yuri, now!"

"Nam," Riku called out magically. "Nam, have you seen Yuffie?"

"No," she replied abruptly. Riku looked toward her—she was struggling with Korin, while Roxas was nearby, conquering yet another foe Korin had thrown at him. Riku watched him finish taking down the foe, and began to search the battlefield for sign of Yuffie.

"Yuri," Hana was urging loudly, pressing the wound carefully with a linen compress she had found in the infirmary of the castle. She had quickly raided the hospital area, and then barricaded herself and Yuri in the basement storage area of it. Surrounded by antibacterial cleansers and other non-magic medicinal products, Yuri was laying on a pile of blankets Hana had pulled out, white-faced and eyes shut, her clothing sliced open by Hana in order to get at the injury. It was just below her large sternum bone. Thankfully, it couldn't reach her heart, but her lungs were at risk to get punctured. "Yuri, please, I need you to use that magic of yours that Korin gripes about and tell your friends that you're okay. Please, Yuri, tell them you're okay!"

Yuri's head lolled to the side unwillingly; she was completely speechless. She pressed her lips together, which Hana took to mean that she was concentrating, and she felt feeble magic building up in Yuri's mind.

"I'm fine."

Riku shook his head as the weak message arrived, eyes widening in disbelief. Could it really be Yuri?

"Are you really?" he demanded. "Where has Hana taken you?"

"Hospital wing," came the weak, soft reply. Euphoric, Riku ran back to the battle, willing to slaughter each and every Adherence member if it meant he got to see Yuri again. He fought harder than ever before, winning battles left and right, making the skilled fighters of the Adherence look like amateurs. The sooner the fight was over, the sooner he could be with her, take care of her…

Korin was furious with the departure of Hana. One of her best friends and most trusted organization members was gone, off to share secrets with the enemy. Her fight with Roxas and Naminé went downhill from there, and Riku's rampage was taking a toll on her troops—he, Cloud, Leon, and the witches were ravaging the Adherence so badly that they were leaving with one-third of their numbers killed. Aerith had done a good number on Tomoko, leaving her fallen, as well. Before Naminé could take any measures to ensure that Korin couldn't teleport away, she was calling her troops back, pulling back… retreating…
Yuri's eyes were open, but she couldn't sit up, couldn't move, could barely think… Suddenly, something unmistakable and distinct caught her eye.

"Hana… why is your hair turning brown?"

It was true—most of the platinum blonde hair had been replaced by a mousy brown, and slowly, her white and terrible skin was becoming softer, less intense… more normal colored…

"I have fully betrayed the stipulations of my contract with the Adherence…" she sounded ashamed. "Therefore, my features return to what they were before I ever signed on." She tried to camouflage it, but even an injured Yuri noticed the tears drip down Hana's cheeks.

Yuri closed her eyes again. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

I hope that was good? XD Anyway, the death toll is already mounting. Zexion, Tomoko, and a third of the Adherence's troops.

Who's next? Read chapter 21 to find out :D

Thanks for reading, and remember to review!

Lulala